Burnt Out

[Abe]

Is there such a thing as a burnt out engineer
There a phenomena like mid life crisis, can the two be related

I would classify the symptoms as:

A lack of motivation to respond to a call or to the next emergency breakdown
A frustration with customers, behaviours and attitudes
Keeping abreast of changes in legislation and work practices
Changes in technology

These are just a few

Faced with these symptoms, would the treatment be:

Abandonement of trade and change of job
Period of rest and relaxation, long holiday
Change in direction

I wonder if other engineers have gone, or go through these symptoms

Finally........What is the cure?

Change of

[grabber01]

Shame NRS/HRP don't do burn out driers for engineers, they would make a fortune. For my part i change from commercial to Mobile every couple of years. I think every enginner suffers from it during the summer. I think it has alot o do with attitude. When we are new to a job we want to get all jobs done quickly & keep the customer happy, once we have done it a little while you begin to realise that you can only do one job at a time and don't get stressed about the others. It may seem like a negative attitude but this is the only way to survive in the heat.
As for a cure, two weeks in St Lucia without the kids sounds good

[Mark]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Aiyub
[B]Is there such a thing as a burnt out engineer
There a phenomena like mid life crisis, can the two be related

I would classify the symptoms as:

A lack of motivation to respond to a call or to the next emergency breakdown
A frustration with customers, behaviours and attitudes
Keeping abreast of changes in legislation and work practices
Changes in technology

These are just a few

Faced with these symptoms, would the treatment be:

Abandonement of trade and change of job
Period of rest and relaxation, long holiday
Change in direction

I wonder if other engineers have gone, or go through these symptoms

Finally........What is the cure

This i believe is more common in the winter time

regards mark

[Abe]

So " SAD" or Seasonal.....something...something......is the root cause?

I think you are right Mark....

[chemi-cool]

aiyub,

you need a good relaxing holyday - on your oun!!

try, marshall islands, white beaches, clear sea, fresh seafood (mercury free), fantastic hospitality, asd most important - time to let the old soul a good rest.

chemi

[Mark]

seasonal affected disorder

so they say

[Mark]

Aiyub hi

Im not aiming this towards you but WE as in us who participate in this forum deep down like the challenge we get from refrigeration and associated problems.
We all share the same passion, to other people a jobs a job
to us its more ,I believe we have a lot to be proud of in this industry.

regards mark

[chemi-cool]

maybe thats why, very few people have left refrigeration completly.

in a 1000000 years archiologists will discover the homofrigo.

a kind of special people who walkad on the earth with a toolbox and each one of them had three rubber pipes.

chemi

[Peter_1]

Originally posted by markfiddy
Aiyub hi

Im not aiming this towards you but WE as in us who participate in this forum deep down like the challenge we get from refrigeration and associated problems.
We all share the same passion, to other people a jobs a job
to us its more ,I believe we have a lot to be proud of in this industry.

regards mark

This was a nice quote and als othat from Chemi, the homofrigo with the 3 rubber tubes. Haha.
Perhaps also some empty cylinders and a tube leaklock.

[Peter_1]

Ayiub,

I know exactly what you are talking about. Had the same some years ago.

Let over finally my company, not for the money ( I still have to work hard every day) but I became tired and depressed of all the things around our job which has nothing to do/see with the pure technical side of it.

I think we all love it to fix problems and to install something but then: paperwork, late payments from customers, employers who are leaving the company and perhaps the worst start their own business, employers who becomes sick in the busiest time of the year, regulations, you don't have any spare time not even for your hobby nor your family, problems with deliveries from the distributors, ...

[Gary]

I passed through the burned out stage many years ago. I think we will need a new word to describe my present condition. There is no cure.

[rbartlett]

a -i wa slike that back in 2000 -i was really down and hated going to work staff problems partner (in work) problems customer hassles etc etc

so i left that and although i was really happy for a short while found the new industry i joined made me feel exactly the same in less than 2 years..

so i'm back....

i was with an old fridge guy yesterday who'd been in the industry all his life

we were chatting about work and stuff and i said to him

'it's funny this game even when we go on hoilday we still look up at the roof line to see what kit they've got'

he had a real laugh and a knowing twinkle in his eye..

cheers

richard

[chemi-cool]

thats the way we are richard,

basicly we are all alike.

what you just wrote remind me, last october going to carlisle on the national express.

we stop at one of the sevices and when every body went in, I stayed uot looking at the air condition layout.

I guess it happends to all "homofrigo".

mayby that should be the real test to find out who is suitable for the trade.

chemi

[rbartlett]

asking new recruits if they can name the equipment on a service station roof on the M6 is going to stump quite a few i'd imagine

(however it's more inventive than-

'whats superheat and how do you measure it' ;-)

cheers

richard

[Gary]

'it's funny this game even when we go on hoilday we still look up at the roof line to see what kit they've got'

Yep. That's the part we love. What we don't do on holiday is deal (on an adversarial basis) with the people who own that equipment, nor do we deal with employer games, nor do we have government agencies micromanaging our every move.

[rbartlett]

asking new recruits if they can name the equipment on a service station roof on the M6 is going to stump quite a few i'd imagine

(however it's more inventive than-

'whats superheat and how do you measure it' ;-)

cheers

richard

[Mark]

Ok richard lets compromise what about you notice the a/c make ,fans cycling,frost line and you can if asked measure the superheat .
Just making a point that thank god we are all different.
regards mark

[Latte]

Hello RBartlett,
Can't tell you much about the a/c on the M6 services but i can tell you your'e coach probably was a plaxton body on a Volvo B10M running gear & operated by Rapson's of Inverness for National Express

YES !! i am full of useless information

Regards

Raymond

[Abe]

A guy once said to me.........I got the bug........ie: refrigeration infection.

I passed over a career in law and a Masters in Business Adminestration so I could be in the fridge game.......why ?? Because I just couldnt help glance up at the roof to see what equipment was up there, or look at the ceilings to see the designs, to read up stuff and visit exhibitions

The real buzz I got, was designing something, say a cold room and then building it and seeing the stuff work

Im contemplating now........Was it all worth it?? Would I have been happier doing something else, and doing fridge as a hobby only

I think yes, Im not really a hands on technical type. I can write, I can speak, I can negotiate, I can handle a project, but I cant motivate myself to lug a vacuum pump up a ladder or replace a fan in a freezer store at minus 25.......

I have reached that crossroad..........its time to hang up my boots

[Abe]

Two years ago a guy joined me, he was a good engineer, good trouble shooter, but knew very little about business, how to prepare estimates, costing up stuff, getting orders, etc, etc

He stayed close to me, watched me.....saw who my suppliers were, all the tricks I employed to get the costs down to get the job

Then last summer, at the height of the work period, a day before we were installing 5 splits........he says.......Im not going to be at work........made an excuse , said he wanted more money.....I gave him more......he came back......said he wanted even more......

He was holding a pistol to my head........

I thought.....I thought...............I was in a fix.......I said , Im giving you more money then Im paying myself.........I charged 20 pounds an hour for that job......I was giving him 15......leaving 5 for myself!!

But I had to get the job finished

I knew what was going through his head........I told him........if you want to go.........go......

I did the job myself

Then I remembered him telling me........."Show the man the fruit......but not the location of the orchard"

I had showed him the orchard.......he was lapping it all up for a while

He left me, started on his own......this was his intention all along......went to all my customers.....he was a familiar face with them.......offered to work for less.......and started picking off all my jobs, one by one

We live in a free market........there are no restrictive trade covenants, I have no gripes......thats life

But it made me think...........that phrase came to haunt me......" Show the man the apple........but not the orchard"

[rbartlett]

there are few 'new' customers -usually we all get work by the big customer marry-go-round

you will always get this in business..and if we're honest when we start up on our own we all try to nick a few off the old company..it happens and it hurts....


cheers

richard

[frank]

in a 1000000 years archiologists will discover the homofrigo.

I'd feel a lot happier if they were to discover a hetrofrigo

[chemi-cool]

I like you frank,

you'r a funny and happy man.

chemi

[Abe]

Chemi

Want to thank you for your call. It meant a lot to me.

Thanks

Abe

[chemi-cool]

that's another reason why we are here for!!

you'r very welcome.


chemi

[frank]

Thanks chemi - what is life if we can't have a little humour?